


The Well

by ArsenicHazard



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Abandonment, Blood, Gen, Mentions Eleven, Missing Persons, The Upside Down, set after season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:34:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22623388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArsenicHazard/pseuds/ArsenicHazard
Summary: Eleven is gone but there might be a new gate opening.(Originally written for Inktober 2016)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	The Well

After Eleven’s disappearance, Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and Will seemed unsettled. Their conversations were kept short, when possible, just in case it veered off to talk about her, a touchy subject especially around Mike. The boys all knew that Mike continued to search, in fact, they all did. Every Sunday afternoon, rather than playing Dungeons and Dragons, the four would go for a bike ride, checking all the places they had gone with her, praying she would be there.

Weeks passed with no luck, eventually the rest of the town forgetting the disastrous events prior. The newspapers returned to their boring headlines, and the world continued as if Eleven had never existed. But the three boys knew differently. 

Will hadn’t ever seen her, and as the search continued, they noticed he got more and more distant. This was like an inside secret and he wasn’t part of it. He found there was no use in searching for someone who he didn’t even know, and the other three seemed so caught up in it, that sometimes he was forgotten when they passed information around. They spoke to each other freely, each one of them knowing equally about Eleven, except for him, and he was left out of the loop more and more frequently.

The distance grew so much that even when there was an exciting headline, one that the four of them would have jumped on and explored, Will chose to sit it out.

“I’m just not feeling well enough to be out, guys, over.” He muttered into his walkie-talkie. He was lying in his bed, staring at his comic books as he snacked on some crackers. Since his return from the upside-down, his mom had been much more cautious with him going out, but also more lenient on what he wanted to do inside the house –like eating in his room. “Besides, my mom says I can’t.” He lied. He had used that excuse a lot recently, but he knew the others wouldn’t question it. Everyone had seen how protective she was.

There were several groans on the other ends before Mike spoke up. “Alright, but if you can get her to change her mind, you can still come. Dustin, Lucas, you guys can come over tomorrow after school, right? Over.”

The two boys agreed, and they ended the conversation for the night.

**.** **.** **.**

School took far too long the next day, meeting up at recess to pour over the newspaper that Mike had borrowed from his dad and shoved into his bag. Will wasn’t at school, so the three of them sat quietly by the bleachers to read and discuss.

“Local _th_ have been warned to _th_ tay away from the well by the outskirt _th_ of town. Last Thursday, Mr. Daniel _th_ was _th_ een fetching water, but never returned home. Government official _th_ have _th_ ent a _th_ earch party out for Mr. Daniel _th_ and have quarantined the area.” Dustin read, staring the newspaper. He paused to look at the picture provided, Lucas snatching it to keep reading. Fifteen minute recess didn’t give them enough time for dramatic pauses.

“If anyone knows the whereabouts of Mr. Daniels, please report to the police station immediately.”

Mike looked between the two of them. “Mr. Daniels disappeared... What if this is-“

“The upside-down.” Dustin finished.

**.** **.** **.**

That night, the boys went to Mike’s house, taking their bikes out and down the roads toward the outer rim of town. Mike had the newspaper clutched tightly in one hand, racing ahead of the other two. They reached the well mentioned in the newspapers, ditching their bikes hurriedly.

“Mike, wait up!” Dustin called as the boy sped up ahead of them, beyond eager to see if it was a gate. Dustin didn’t know if he should be eager or not. The thought of seeing Eleven again was exciting, but if there was another gate, that would mean more scary things would be happening around town. They nearly died last time and he did not want a repeat of that.

They climbed over the temporary fencing that had been put up, running towards the well, only stopping short of falling in. Lucas crouched down, staring into the darkness, Will joining him. Dustin looked around, finding a bucket attached to a rope. This must be how Mr. Daniels fetched water. He brought it over to show the other two, looking down.

“What do you think i _th_ down there?” He asked, trying to squint to see further.

“Maybe… drop the bucket?” Mike offered, looking over at the two of them.

“No, no, what if the rope breaks? Then we will never know what’s down there!” Lucas protested. The three of them split up to look around the well to find several rocks to throw down. The first two bounced off the sides, sounds of stone on stone echoing until there was a small splash. The third one, however, didn’t make a splash. They waited for a long time, listening until it was almost horrifying.

“It probably just splashed and we couldn’t hear it…” Lucas whispered, unconvinced.

“Now can we drop the bucket?” Dustin insisted.

Dustin held onto the rope, leaning over the well as they slowly lowered it down. They continued to wait for the splash of the bucket hitting the water but it never came.

“That _th_ weird. It wa _th_ there a minute ago-“

He let out a shocked cry as the bucket tugged, nearly stumbling into the well. Lucas and Mike jumped into action, grabbing the rope and tugging backwards in a panic. The boys were yelling things, none of them truly hearing the other, just all working towards pulling the bucket back up. It took about a minute of struggling before whatever was down there released the bucket. With the opposite force gone, the three of them collapsed back onto the ground, the bucket flying back up to crash to the ground beside them. Dark, crimson liquid dripped from the inside and there were several long claw marks on the outer rim. The boys stared at it in horror, looking back at the well. Whatever was down there did not belong to this world, that was for sure.

That could only mean one thing. The gate was opened again.


End file.
